The State University of New York is committed to operating with integrity and in compliance with all applicable laws, regulations and policies. The State University of New York has established the Compliance Steering Committee to coordinate SUNY's numerous existing compliance efforts and to provide senior leadership with a comprehensive view of SUNY's compliance activities. The Committee will assist the Board in overseeing SUNY’s compliance program with respect to compliance with legal, regulatory, and ethical responsibilities and minimizing SUNY’s risk.

The Committee will not assume the duties of the various substantive compliance areas and all ongoing compliance activities will continue in their existing reporting structure. Rather the Committee’s role will be to coordinate and monitor these efforts and assess University-wide performance, making recommendations for change and enhancement where necessary. It is expected that the SUNY Compliance Program will be an evolving process and additional resources will be needed to enhance our efforts over time.

What’s New to the Compliance Website

Campus Compliance Roles - A new page on the compliance websitedetails all of the required compliance roles a SUNY campus must have in order to comply with State and Federal law, and SUNY Policies. The page is a comprehensive list of the compliance roles that SUNY campuses must have, at a minimum, as well as the responsibilities of the employee who has been designated to fill that particular role.

NEW SUNY Policies on Sexual Violence Prevention and Response - In October 2014, Chancellor Zimpher established the Chancellor’s Working Group on Continual Improvement to Sexual Violence Prevention Policies. The Working Group, through their website, has released a set of uniform policies and guidelines to assist SUNY colleges in preventing sexual assault and responding to reports of assault. The policies include: a Definition of Affirmative Consent, a Policy for Alcohol and/or Drug Use Amnesty in Sexual Violence Cases, a Campus Climate Assessment Policy, a Sexual Violence Victim/Survivor Bill of Rights, a Sexual Violence Response Policy, Options for Confidentially Disclosing Sexual Violence, and a Student Onboarding and Ongoing Education Guide.

For general information on Title IX and the Violence Against Women Act, see the SUNY Compliance pages on each topic:

International Compliance News - The SUNY Council on International Education had adopted a new SUNY Clery and Title IX Procedure for International Programs that helps to clarify the reporting obligations and protocols for Clery Act crime reporting and Title IX protocols for SUNY’s international programs and overseas activities. The Memorandum and Procedure are available here.

Ebola Information - SUNY has convened an Ebola Task Force Steering Committee to coordinate Ebola efforts across the SUNY System. Campuses and the public can refer to the SUNY Health Alert website [http://www.suny.edu/health-alert/ ] for the most up-to-date information regarding Ebola, including the Chancellor's October 17th Memorandum to Campus Presidents and Chief Academic Officers, links to the most current guidance from the CDC and other governmental agencies, as well as guidance prepared by the SUNY SUNY Ebola Task Force specifically for SUNY's purposes.

Training Announcements

JCOPE Comprehensive Ethics Training: System Administration is offering two JCOPE Comprehensive Ethics Trainings via the web. All State employees who are FDS filers for purposes of JCOPE must have completed the training. The training will be held on: Monday, March 9, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. and Thursday, February 26, 2015 at 11:00 a.m.. The training must be attended live, and will not be recorded for future use. Who is required to file an FDS (and therefore complete the training): 1. Individuals designated as policy makers by their Agency; and 2. Employees with an annual salary rate in excess of the "filing rate" of a SG-24 CSEA equivalent ($90,020 in 2014). To sign up for one of the training sessions, send an email to the Director of Compliance.

Child Protection Policy Training: The Office of General Counsel and the Compliance Office have teamed up to deliver a system-wide training on the SUNY Child Protection Policy.The training will be held on Tuesday, March 3 from 1 - 3:00 p.m. via the web. In addition to this live web session (via webex), the Offices will offer pre-recorded modules on the various sections of the training. If you are interested in attending, please email the Director of Compliance for login information for the live sessions.

SUNY System Administration has begun to offer quarterly JCOPE Comprehensive Ethics Training webinar sessions for campuses to access and utilize for their own JCOPE training purposes. The webinar trainings are being facilitated by the Office of U-Wide Human Resources, the Office of General Counsel, the Compliance Office, and the Office of Information Technology. The goal of these system-wide sessions is to help campuses ensure that their new employees who are required by statute to complete the JCOPE Comprehensive Ethics Training, receive that training in a timely fashion, and in accordance with the statute.

SUNY Compliance Listservs

In addition, several other Compliance listserv's are maintained in conjunction with particular compliance topics. To join one of these listservs, e-mail the Director of Compliance, who will pass the request along to the appropriate SUNY contact.

There are SUNY internal listservs for the following compliance topics/functions:

Clery Act Compliance

Title IX Compliance

Affirmative Action Officers

Records Management Officers

FOIL/ Records Access Officers

Ethics Officers

Child Protection Listserv

The information contained on the SUNY Compliance website is for general campus guidance only and is not intended, nor can be relied upon, as legal advice or the imposition on SUNY campuses of specific policies or requirements. The site is intended to be an informational-only clearinghouse for some of the laws, rules, and regulations that may impact the State University of New York’s campuses. Additionally, given the rapid, changing nature of laws, rules and regulations, there may be delays or omissions contained on this site which therefore cannot be relied upon as complete. For complete compliance information, consult your campus compliance officials or the SUNY Director of Compliance. For legal advice, consult your lawyer.